The pace of life strikes you as soon as you have contact with the first native you meet here. There’s a natural warmth and friendliness that puts you at ease and convinces you to slow down. Especially in Olhao, grantedly a tourist town, the shopkeepers and service personnel are responsive and eager to cater to your needs.

We are staying the week at Arts in the Algarve, a collection of buildings with hide-and-seek rooms. Courtyards interjected here and there remind you of the warmth of the sun and the incredibly piercing light in this part of the world. You can’t help but feel healthy and inspired here.

Locals seem to enjoy being outdoors and life doesn’t start taking shape until after dark. Music wafts through the alleyways and over the rooftops into our rooms. Both pop music and accordion-style sing-a-longs with smiles and laughter are detectable. Parades and celebrations are a daily activity that bring multitudes of friends and strangers together.

The details and tiled facades of residential buildings allow owners to inscribe their mark, while balconies and connection to the outdoors are always evident. Lush shady trees and parks provide escape from the blazing sun, while artwork and monuments remind us of our fragile existence.

Our group in the art school this week includes four physiotherapists, an attorney, art and ESL teachers, an executive coach, real estate and finance, one with a diplomatic background, and two AirBNB hosts. There are plenty of interesting conversations at each meal as we convene in the school, poolside, and at nearby restaurants. We learn from and support each other as we challenge our artistic abilities.

There’s barely enough time in the mornings to sketch around town, so I took a day off from a planned nature tour to wander around Olhao on my own. Street scenes and people brought me back to ground zero, where art and ideas come together quickly for me.

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The afternoons are spent in the studio culminating color, form, composition, and style from the morning’s sketches:

The food served in the school as well as in dining establishments is unadulterated, straightforward and fresh. Everything you need to stay healthy, especially the fish. The wide variety of daily catch includes tuna, halibut, sole, sea bream, sea bass, sardines, monkfish, and skate, as well as shellfish.

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Before parking in Vienna for two weeks, I will be spending a few days in Lisbon, Portugal. Look out for a weekend post from there. Let me know if you have been to Portugal and what you find special about it!